• We are following the story of the missing Air France flight. We have reports through the day from Andrew Downie in Brazil and Bob Marquand in Paris. Alexandra Marks, who covers aviation from New York, is exploring this question: How in an age when a satellite can see the numbers on your front door and tracking devices can find your dog, can a jumbo jet full of almost 300 people simple disappear into thin air?

• Mark Trumbull is covering the GM bankruptcy. First, he has looked at what lessons the bankruptcy of an icon of American industrial brawn, holds for the whole US economy. Later in the day, he assesses the place of auto jobs in the US economy, and what fewer of them will mean. In addition, Mark Guarino in Michigan reports from communities facing further GM plant closings and can't help but be woebegone – even though many were expecting the worst.

• Gail Chaddock in Washington reports that some conservative activists are trying to seize the initiative on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme court away from the so-called flamethrowers. Even if they don't stop her nomination, they intend to use the battle as an occasion to build a renewed conservative movement.

• It's now six months and counting down as countries prepare to meet in Copenhagen to approve an agreement to replace the 1997 Kyoto protocol on the climate. Pete Spotts reports that negotiators meeting in Bonn finally have a very rough draft of treaty text to work with. The US is back in the game and playing a more active role, but with global warming goals far less ambitious than many countries would like.